I went out as usual this morning to do the goats, ducks and hens up at the field. We had about four weeks ago missed a little white bantam hen. She was a lovely little bird and I was sorry to realise she had gone, probably courtesy of the fox. Then about four days ago, I saw her on the veggie plot but couldn't catch her to put her back into the run. This morning as I was getting into the car, I saw a movement by a pile of wood next to the compost bins and there was less than day old grey chick. I went straight over and there were yellow, black and grey chicks and deep in the woodpile, the little white hen!
I went back into the barn and got some hen food and put it on the ground in front of the woodpile and then collected a cat basket from the barn in which some of the hens lay. By the time I got back, Mum was sitting on the ground next to the food with all the chicks under her. I scooped her up with all the chicks in one brilliant move and popped them into the cat basket. Then I waited for a bit, just in case there were anymore chicks not with her. They are now all installed in a little house and run within the main rabbit run. The photos are not brilliant, partly because I'm too fat to get down that far, but also because of the wire run netting, but better than nothing!
Here they are all enjoying themselves in the sun.
And here, three are already under Mum's wing going to sleep in their little house.
I had already hatched six blue eggs, eight weeks ago, and bought five day old Warren chicks in, on 24 March, and now I have seven others - ooh - plus two eggs which hadn't hatched so I've put them under Mum too. I shall be overrun with hens now and cockerels too I expect. But what a lovely surprise, after incubating and heated containers for the others, now their Mum will do all that for them and me with these new chicks.
